High Point man faces sex charges involving children

ASHEBORO —A High Point man was charged Wednesday with a number of sex crimes against children, including first-degree rape.

Graham Allen Smith, 60, 1712 Lamb Ave., High Point, was arrested after a Randolph County grand jury returned true bills of indictment against him for one count of first-degree rape, three counts of first-degree sexual offense, three counts of attempted sexual offense and seven counts of indecent liberties with children.

A true bill is a decision by members of a grand jury that evidence convinces them there is probable cause that a crime has been committed.

The charges stem from a nearly year-long joint investigation by the Asheboro and Randleman police departments. The allegations involve two daughters of Smith’s girlfriend.

Det. Lt. Gene Henderson of the Randleman Police Department said Thursday that a representative of the Randolph County Department of Social Services contacted him last September with concerns that crimes may have occurred in Randleman in 2011 and 2012, when Smith, his girlfriend and the children lived there.

At the time of the initial report, he said, the girls were ages 4 and 8.

Henderson said his investigation revealed that crimes also may have occurred when Smith, his girlfriend and her daughters were living in Asheboro in 2010, so he contacted the Asheboro Police Department.

The children have been living with family members since the investigation began, Henderson said.